Arsenal: 4 talking points as Nketiah salvages draw vs Fulham

Fresh off the back of a magnificent win against Slavia Prague, Arsenal hosted Fulham in the Premier League with the visitors needing a win to keep alive their faint hopes of survival. The 1-1 draw does neither side much good. Here are the talking points.

Mikel Arteta came into this fixture knowing he has four full days of recovery, thus had the chance to build momentum with a similar starting lineup, yet said pre-game that some players hadn’t recovered and changes were enforced for freshness.

It didn’t make much difference as Arsenal started strongly, nearly going in front inside the first minute. They kept probing and pressing with Gabriel Martinelli lively and thought they got the goal their performance deserved with Dani Ceballos heading home for his first goal in the competition.

That wonderful invention known as VAR ruled it out, however, as Bukayo Saka‘s toenail meant he was offside, apparently.

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Arsenal vs Fulham: 4 talking points as Eddie Nketiah salvages 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday

Coming out for the second half with similar impetus, everything came crumbling down as Gabriel was adjudged to have stood on Mario Lemina’s toenail, and with VAR checking for an offside that was 100% guesswork, Josh Maja scored from the penalty spot. It was Fulham’s only shot on target all game.

Gabriel went to centre-forward and Saka to right-back as Arsenal threw everything at the Cottagers. Nicolas Pepe was desperately unlucky with his header being cleared off the line and Saka also came within inches with a curling effort, as it appeared no goal would come.

Then with seven minutes of stoppage time, Mat Ryan (Olivier Giroud) flicked on a corner that eventually fell into the path of Eddie Nketiah who tapped home to snatch a point that Arsenal deserved.

Some unnecessary celebrations from the team followed as hearts ruled heads, with a result neither side were after.

Alexandre Lacazette Hammer Blow

Can’t catch a break, can they? At first it looked like Lady Luck wasn’t present for Granit Xhaka, who was writhing in pain and clutching his leg with an apparent injury. He fortunately got up and carried on, but the same couldn’t be said for Alexandre Lacazette.

The draw is a poor result and continues the theme of the season, yet the hamstring pull for the No. 9 is arguably a far worse occurrence than a result in a competition Arsenal were unlikely to get any joy from.

It’s a crushing blow to their chances of ending the season on a high, with Lacazette performing well in a system he’s suited to of late.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to return from malaria but the lasting effects of the illness mean it’s unsure how long it will take for him to adjust to high intensity matches.

Eddie Nketiah came on and showed his predatory instincts for the equaliser and is in line for more (any) minutes, and with Folarin Balogun officially a member of the first team he will at least be making the bench heading into the final stretch depending on how long Lacazette will be absent for.

Despite the options, it’s a huge loss. Fingers crossed for the scan.

Arsenal Did More Than Enough to Win

Another game which ends up with various utterings of ‘how did we not win that?’.

Creating enough chances to have not only won but to have done so comfortably, Fulham’s only shot on goal was from a penalty that was dubious in the first place. If Saka had feet two sizes smaller the goal would have stood, and then there were chances cleared off the line and shots going inches wide of the post.

On another day Arsenal could easily have won on Sunday.

There was also a considerable drop off from Thursday. Much of that is down to personnel, with sloppiness creeping into the game and the build-up often being slower than usual, while tired legs also play a part. It can’t be excused that Arsenal were poor.

Both Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were quiet against Fulham, the latter in particular having a significantly less influential performance than in Prague.

Yet all that aside, even without certain players struggling, nine times out of ten Arsenal win that match. It’s an average day at the office but only succeeds in maintaining the theme of the season where a good performance is followed by a vastly inferior one. Consistency is they key, one Arsenal have misplaced and are unable to find.

Arsenal Squad Depth Limiting Success

Speaking of consistency, it is impossible to have that when the backup options for essential players are dreadfully worse in quality.

There has to be a major overhaul of the squad and the bar for quality needs raising drastically. As a team the lack of continuity from week to week hasn’t been of the standard required, yet with players such as Mohamed Elneny coming in to play the single pivot Thomas Partey role, what can we really expect?

Such a gulf in class will invariably result in weaker output.

While fine margins once again determined the outcome – said margins are unfortunately essential at present – if Partey had started then there is little reason to suggest Arsenal wouldn’t have won. There are no certainties there, of course, yet rotation is an unfortunate necessity that costs Arsenal in quality.

Until these issues are seen to in the transfer market then the problem will continue to be relevant. All top sides have to rotate their teams. The difference is most don’t replace Thomas Partey with Mohamed Elneny, with this simply being the most recent example of a scenario that plays out across the pitch.

Gabriel Struggles Without David Luiz

Watching his Premier League debut against the same opposition on the opening day and then seeing Sunday’s performance, one would be mistaken for thinking the latest installment was Gabriel’s first match for the club.

It was not a good afternoon for the Brazilian.

Gabriel is not the same player when he doesn’t have his preferred partner, David Luiz, by his side. There have been displays this season where he’s been excellent with Rob Holding, such as against Manchester United at Old Trafford, but this was not one of them.

Positionally unsure out of possession, he doesn’t boast the same connection with the Englishman as he does with his countryman. That uncertainty then creeps into all aspects of his game, including the rashness of his challenges. The penalty call was painfully soft even if it is a spot-kick in the eyes of the law, but demonstrated a lack of calmness on his part.

Quality wise Gabriel is still arguably the best central defender on the books. He boasts all the attributes needed from a modern centre-back, it’s just apparent that he needs more time.

It’s been a bizarre season, one with real highs and obvious lows, he just has to have the right partner alongside him. Will that be William Saliba?